Judicial probe sought into 'misuse' of Haj quota by Ahamed

Accusing minister of state for External Affairs and Indian Union Muslim League national
president E Ahamed of committing serious irregularities in alloting Haj quota from Kerala, prominent CPI(M) leader TK Hamsa, MP, on Wednesday demanded a judicial probe into the matter.

"Ahamed was in charge of state Haj affairs and there were serious iregularities in selecting candidates for the recent holy pilgrimage," he told reporters here.

He alleged that there were a series of complaints that the Haj quota was widely misused by Ahamed and said only a judicial probe could bring out the facts. Hamsa, who won the Lok Sabha polls from Manjeri in the district in the previous election, is likely to take on Ahamed from the newly-formed Malappuram constituency, comprising Manjeri, this time.

Ahamed, who also won the last parliamentary elections from Ponnani constituency in the district, had already accused the LDF of failing to grant land in the district for starting a
campus of the Aligarh University.

Hamsa also declared that he was close to the pro-LDF Sunni faction, led by AP Kanthapuram Aboobacker Musaliyar, which holds considerable sway among the Muslim community in Malappuram.